


stars around my scars

by rosegoldblood



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: 5+1 Things, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Bullying, Childhood Friends, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Mild Blood, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:55:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29023089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegoldblood/pseuds/rosegoldblood
Summary: if there's one thing consistent about ibuki, it's that she's clumsy - tripping over her own shoelaces, skidding her knees across dirt, getting papercuts. and the other consistent thing? mikan's always been there to take care of ibuki. no matter what.five times mikan took care of ibuki, and one time it was the other way around.
Relationships: Mioda Ibuki/Tsumiki Mikan
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36





	stars around my scars

**Author's Note:**

> hello tsumioda enjoyers! i have, regrettably, hyperfixated on danganronpa, so have this.  
> read my [carrd](https://rosegoldblood.carrd.co) for my socials and stuff! as always, kudos and comments are appreciated.

_— one._

"ah! ibuki! b-be careful!"

"jeez, miki, trust me! i'm not gonna fall!" ibuki giggled, clinging onto the monkey bars, swinging back and forth gleefully. mikan stuttered and bit her nails in nervousness, watching her friend ten feet off the ground. "i'm not gonna f - whoa!"

she did fall.

and despite mikan's efforts to save her, she'd never been the fastest girl on the playground (she probably rivalled himiko for the slowest, actually), and ibuki landed on the ground with a loud thud and an _oof! -_ her leg scraping across the rough dirt.

there was a second of silence, and then ibuki burst into tears. her black hair spiked across her face, tears dripping down her cheeks, as she rubbed at her eyes. mikan scrambled over, lifting ibuki's leg up just slightly.

"ahahah - p-please stop crying! i'll h-help you! um, um, if y-you'll let me, of c-course!" ibuki sniffled and nodded, letting mikan inspect the cuts on the underside of her leg. "oh, n-no. um, your leg is b-bleeding. it's okay, though! i can fix it!"

biting her lip, mikan brushed the dirt off her skirt and turned to grab the bandages from her bag, which was covered in stickers and torn up. but before she could, she felt a hand on her skirt. she screeched and jumped, and ibuki recoiled.

"it hurts," she whined, lip trembling. her eyes were shiny. "ibuki doesn't want mikan to leave! you said you would fix her!"

"y-yes! i am!" ibuki sniffed again. "i-i just need to get some - some bandages, so i-i can, um, so the scar will..." mikan started to stutter again, unsure what to do about ibuki sobbing at her feet. "p-please hold on!"

she scrambled to her bag, hastily throwing stuff out to find a box of band-aids. when she came back, ibuki had calmed down. her mouth was still pulled into a pout, but she'd stopped crying, only sniffing slightly at times. mikan knelt down.

"u-um, i'm going to clean it off now." she took out a piece of cotton from her skirt and added a drop of antiseptic. "it m-might hurt, just a little bit, but i promise it'll only b-be a second!" ibuki nodded again, rubbing her eyes, surprisingly cooperative. 

when she swiped the cotton across the scar, ibuki screamed and flailed, almost knocking it out of mikan's hand. she went red and tried to calm her down, keeping ibuki's injured leg straight. "i'm sorry! i'm sorry!" she squeaked, starting to cry herself, "please f-forgive me!"

quickly, so as to not draw ibuki's pain out any longer, mikan took out a band-aid and plastered it over the cuts on ibuki's leg. "s-see?" she said hopefully, "it's okay now! it won't hurt anymore, r-right? s-so please stop crying!"

ibuki sniffed and reached for mikan, who flinched, before her eyes widened when she realised ibuki was _hugging_ her. no one had ever hugged her before... "thank you, mikan!" she yelled tearfully. her voice almost shattered mikan's eardrums, but she was too busy enjoying the feeling of someone's arms around her. 

"oh, it's okay! ahaha, i'm so g-glad you've forgiven me," she managed to stutter out.

"ibuki's so grateful!" she continued to say, burying her face in mikan's choppy black hair. "woohoo! ibuki's finally got a friend!" mikan was starting to get dizzy from ibuki's movement, but she didn't mind much. "you'll stay with ibuki, right, mikan? you'll take care of her?"

no one had ever asked that before. no one had ever wanted her to be around.

"o-of course!" mikan yelled, maybe a bit too loud and excitable, but it didn't matter - loud and excitable was ibuki's forte, after all. "i - i will stay with you!"

ibuki let out another whoop, and mikan smilled.

_— two._

"eek! i-ibuki! sonia!" mikan cried, and she could feel tears dotting at her eyes already in panic. "w-what happened?!"

"ah! well! it's kind of ibuki's fault," ibuki yelled, causing sonia to wince where her long blonde hair was somehow stuck to ibuki's hand, and every time ibuki gestured she was yanked around like a rag doll. "she put glue on her hand accidentally touched the princess' hair! whoopsie!"

mikan got ibuki to stop flailing around for a second to lift up her hand. it really was somehow glued to sonia's ponytail. "a-ah, i'm sorry, but i'm not really an expert at these s-sort of things! the glue is quite thick, so, ah, i think i might be able to cut through it, but some glue m-might be left in your hair, m-miss sonia!"

sonia had her hand around ibuki's arm warmer, trying in vain for the latter to stop wriggling and pulling at sonia's hair. "are you sure you cannot do anything else?" she asked, voice light and airy, and mikan squeaked. 

"i'm s-so s-sorry!" mikan squealed as she always did, but she had to admit that something was fluttering in her heart. ibuki had been spending so much time with sonia lately... after this incident, she'd have ibuki back to herself again! 

mikan liked the princess, but she didn't like her so much when she was hogging ibuki.

with steady, careful hands, she held ibuki's hand still and sliced through the glue with a pocket knife. as soon as the glue was cut through, ibuki let out a whoop and sonia stumbled back, the jelly-like material still clinging to her hair.

"sorry!" ibuki said, though her voice was so gleeful she didn't really seem sorry. "ibuki feels bad for putting such a pretty girl in such a weird situation!"

though sonia looked a bit concerned with the glue in her hair, she just pressed the tips of her fingers together and smiled uncomfortably. "it is quite alright! do not feel bad. my hair was getting a little long, anyhow..."

"a-ah!" mikan jumped. "i-i heard somewhere that acetone, um, um, dissolves glue! maybe you can use that?" she suggested. when sonia sighed and brushed her fingers through her now-ruined hair, mikan jumped back. "i'm sorry i can't do m-more! i can get some for you if you'd like!"

"no, i appreciate your suggestion, mikan," sonia said, backing out of the room. some of the glue had gotten on to her blue skirt, and mikan was relieved kazuichi wasn't around to cause a ruckus about it. "thank you very much for helping us. i will be going now."

and with that, she stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. for the first time in a week, she and ibuki were finally alone. mikan's heart soared, and she turned to ibuki, gasping when she saw her hand.

"ibuki!" she said, and the tears were beginning to spill out of her eyes once more. "eek! y-your hand! it's all burnt!"

"ah, right." ibuki used her non-glue hand to scratch the back of her neck, looking flustered and a little embarrassed. mikan had never really seen ibuki look embarrassed before... she kind of liked it, the red in her cheeks and the curve of her lips. "this was hot glue... that's how ibuki got stuck in the first place. it really hurt, but it's a-okay now! teehee!"

mikan made a sound of distress, grabbing ibuki's hand to inspect it. under the layer of dried glue were red splotches, scarring ibuki's palm. "i can help," she offered, timidly, "g-getting the glue off should be easier on skin than hair, and i should really treat those burns! they could be quite bad..."

"aww, you care about me so much, miki!" ibuki let out another laugh. "ibuki's so touched, she's got hearts in her eyes!" she held out her hand, and mikan took it, face flushed at ibuki's words.

ibuki hummed and swung her legs back and forth as mikan carefully pulled off the glue. she winced ever so often, but the smile never left her face. always so upbeat. always so happy. maybe that was why mikan felt so light around her... maybe ibuki's cheerfulness was contagious.

"in truth, ibuki was a little scared," she admitted, and mikan looked up nervously. had she done something wrong? "mikan hasn't been hanging out with her too much lately... so ibuki was worried she didn't like her anymore."

"of course n-not!" mikan cried out, and she almost spilled the water she was holding. she blushed again and calmed down, pouring a little water over ibuki's burns. "of course not. you're so nice... and kind... and you understand me so well..." oh, no. she was going to start crying again - she could feel the sting in her eyes already. "you - you could never do anything wrong, ibuki!"

"so why haven't you been hanging out with ibuki lately?" ibuki asked, and she was biting on her lip. "ibuki... she's missed you."

mikan buried her face in her arms in embarrassment, trying to wipe and blink her tears away. "it's n-nothing! i swear! i was being stupid again... and i made you upset..." the worry on ibuki's face made her want to bawl. "worthless g-garbage like me doesn't deserve your love, ibuki!"

she expected ibuki to laugh, or say something weird like she always did.

instead, she looked up and smiled - so much softer than mikan had ever seen it - colourful hair brushing across her sincerity-filled eyes. "you can trust ibuki, mikan," she said, and mikan blinked, hands curling into fists, "she trusts you, too."

"i was..." there was a fluttering in her heart that felt terrible yet somehow... nice. it was warmth, heat spreading through mikan's torso as she stuttered out. she pressed a compress to ibuki's hand. "i was j-jealous. since you were hanging out so much with - with miss sonia..."

"hmm..." ibuki raised her hands to her forehead, closing her eyes like she was thinking. then her eyes shot back open. "oh, ibuki's so sorry, mikan!"

flinging the compress away, ibuki jumped and wrapped her arms around mikan, who squeaked in surprise. "she made you feel jealous and bad!" she yelled tearfully, "ibuki's so ashamed! grr... and so angry at herself!"

"p-please, at least let me bandage your hand first..." mikan managed to say, concerned with the rough texture of ibuki's palm touching her neck. ibuki drew away, using her free hand to wipe at a tear in her eye. "y-you don't have to be sorry... i was being d-dumb..."

"hehe! you're never dumb, don't worry! you're so smart and cool, mikan." mikan's breath hitched at this, fingers shaking just a little as she wrapped cotton bandages around ibuki's hand. "and... if you are worthless garbage, ibuki's next song will be titled _i love worthless garbage!_ "

"i-ibuki!" mikan said, the heat in her cheeks growing stronger. it was a little strange, sure, but ibuki always was. and the thought of ibuki writing a song about her - about mikan - dedicating her time and effort and passion into someone like her... "y-you're too nice!"

ibuki just laughed and swung her legs back and forth, flexing her fingers to see how well they moved in her bandages. "oh, it doesn't hurt anymore!"

"yes... um... the burn wasn't so bad, so you should be able to take off the bandages by tomorrow, maybe. p-please be careful not to burn yourself again!" she said, bowing, and ibuki laughed, ruffling mikan's choppy hair.

"thank you for treating ibuki, miki," she said, gleefully, "she really does love you so much, you know!"

and when ibuki smothered mikan's face in her chest, she found it in herself to whisper, letting herself smile for the first time in a long time - so long that her cheeks almost hurt doing it:

"i... love you, too."

_— three._

the sound of an electric guitar blasted through the large room, and despite ibuki's insistence that she was "really, really good at playing guitar!", mikan had the urge to plug her ears with her fingers.

she didn't want to hurt ibuki's feelings, though, so she just clapped politely as ibuki played. her multi-coloured hair was tied back into a ponytail with a big scrunchie, whipping around as she moved around the stage, fingers moving across the strings of her guitar.

when ibuki was done ( _thank god,_ mikan thought, though she felt bad for thinking it), she hopped off the stage and ran over to mikan. "so? what did you think?" her face dripped with sweat, and her chest rose and fall with heavy breaths, clearly tired. mikan blushed and looked away. "i was good, right?"

"y-you were great," mikan stuttered out, fidgeting with her fingers, and ibuki pumped her first in victory. the idea that impressing mikan made ibuki happy... warmth spread through her chest once more. "maybe something softer next time? oh, but you don't have to! how t-terrible of someone like me to ask that of you -"

"nah, it's totally cool!" ibuki said, playing with the loose strands of hair that fell out of her ponytail. "ibuki likes it when mikan asks her to do stuff, because she does stuff for ibuki, too," she cooed, leaning in close.

mikan wasn't sure whether ibuki was flirting with her - she was never sure, really. after all, why would someone as cool and talented as ibuki flirt with someone like mikan? it didn't add up, and a lot of the other students seemed to think so, too.

but she'd weather it all. if ibuki thought mikan was good enough, then she'd try to be, even if she knew she wasn't.

with another laugh ibuki skipped off to the stage, picking up her electric guitar and strumming it to test. it was still as harsh as ever, but the volume seemed a little softer as she fiddled with her instrument. after a while of tweaking, ibuki furrowed her eyebrows and pulled out an entirely different guitar, this one acoustic.

_you had that the whole time,_ mikan thought, alarmed, though she just smiled amiably and nodded to encourage her, as ibuki started to play. this was much more pleasant than the previous songs, and mikan found herself swaying from side to side.

ibuki started to sing, the song speeding up, and mikan blinked as she started to jump around excitedly. mikan had always thought that people couldn't possibly be over-enthusiastic playing on an acoustic guitar, but this was making her reconsider.

her eyes widened as ibuki continued to play, and just as the song seemed to end, ibuki stepped forward - and off the stage. helplessly mikan watched ibuki flail for a microsecond before skidding across the floor on her knees, dropping her guitar and crying out in pain.

"ibuki!" mikan cried, getting up from her seat and running over to where ibuki was. her right knee was red and had a small cut on it, while the other was bleeding much more. ibuki was trying to smile, but from the way her eyebrows were furrowed, it must have hurt a lot.

"ahaha... ibuki's so clumsy..." she winced and brought her leg up to cradle her knee. "shit! ah... it hurts a lot..." ibuki brought her hand up to run her fingers over the scar, but mikan quickly grabbed her by the wrist.

"don't touch it! um, it m-might get infected..." blushing, mikan dropped ibuki's wrist, and obediently ibuki didn't try to touch her knee again. "i have a bandages and some antiseptic. please w-wait."

she rummaged in her backpack for her tools, pausing slightly to admire the cat keychain that ibuki had won for her at an arcade, as she always did. the idea that ibuki put effort into giving mikan something made her heart flutter.

mikan screwed the cap off her antiseptic and poured into onto a ball of cotton. she wiped it gently over ibuki's scars, and though ibuki flinched, she didn't yell out, which was good. "this kind of reminds me of kindergarten,'" ibuki said aloud, "do you remember, miki?"

"i'm afraid i d-don't... since you're always getting hurt, aha..." mikan smiled nervously, trying for a joke, and to her surprise and relief ibuki laughed. 

"i'm talking about that time i fell off the monkey bars!" ibuki winced again, and mikan realised that she'd been rubbing ibuki's cuts a bit too harshly and stopped. "dang, ibuki hasn't done that in such a long time... maybe we should go to the playground sometime!"

"well, when i go to the playground people always... hit me, and say bad things... but we can go if you want! eek! i'm sorry for being such a downer!" mikan squeaked as she watched ibuki's face fall. "you can do anything to me if you want - i'm so s-sorry for making you feel bad!"

what she didn't expect was for ibuki to cup mikan's face, the smile returning back even wider. "you didn't make me feel bad! when we go to the playground, ibuki will protect you from everyone, okay?" mikan didn't remember the last time someone touched her face like this - when she wanted it, anyway. it was warm, and soft. she liked it. "she'll be your personal bodyguard!"

tears came back to mikan's eyes as she wrapped a bandage around ibuki's left knee. "i-ibuki..." she muttered, before sniffling. "y-you're too nice to trash like me! i - i'm so grateful that you're my friend!"

"you're always taking care of me, so ibuki's just returning the favour!" ibuki leaned forward and patted mikan's shoulder, making her blush and shake again. "whenever i get hurt, you treat me... and you're always so gentle and kind, you're like a girlfriend!"

this made mikan reel and fall onto her butt. "ibuki!"

ibuki snorted in joy, bending her knee back and forth to test it out. "aha! you're so cute when you're embarrassed, miki!"

_i wouldn't mind being your girlfriend,_ mikan thought, _i'm practically yours already._ they talked daily, mikan took care of ibuki whenever she got hurt, and ibuki touched mikan over her face, her arms, her hips. it wasn't the first time someone had touched her, but it was the first time it felt... nice. warm. like home.

it was the first time she felt at all at home, really. and that was with ibuki. with her silly-looking hair horns and her countless piercings and the way her eyes lit up when she smiled or laughed. 

she didn't know what she'd do if ibuki left, abandoned her like everyone else. and she probably would, with trash like mikan. except the way she looked at her, the way she giggled at every single one of mikan's attempts at jokes, called her cute so very often...

well, it made mikan think that maybe, just maybe, ibuki wouldn't leave. maybe she'd stay. 

mikan let a smile cross her face, and she let herself believe.

_— four._

ibuki was late.

this wasn't a rare occurrence. ibuki, as clumsy and absent-minded and as dreamy as she was, often forgot about a lot of things. classes, homework, how things worked, even the lyrics to her own song. her adhd combined with her overall carefree personality led to her having a memory of a rat on drugs.

so, yes, ibuki was late quite often. mikan learned over time not to take it personally, and most of the time ibuki apologised profusely, even bringing gifts and other little trinkets to appease mikan. 

but even after all that, ibuki was never more than fifteen minutes late. maybe twenty minutes, if she got stuck in a ditch or something (that had happened, at one point, and mikan yet again had to patch ibuki up) (not that she minded).

it had been an hour now, and ibuki was still a no-show. and mikan, being mikan, began to worry. her fingers drummed against the table, faster and faster as the minutes ticked by. 

what if, maybe... this was it. this was the beginning of the end. mikan knew it was bound to happen eventually - ibuki would grow bored with mikan. someone as exciting as her wasn't suited for someone like mikan. a boring slowpoke with barely any skills...

and if she wasn't bored, she was probably disgusted. tired of looking at mikan's gross face and her terrible choppy hair. she cried too often, was way too clingy, was dumb and pathetic and weird. ibuki should've been embarrassed to be seen with her.

in the back of her mind mikan wondered if ibuki would have stayed if mikan had offered more, given her more. she'd been relaxinh, feeling so at home around ibuki that she'd forgotten what she'd learnt all her life.

nobody would stay if she didn't give them everything she _could_ give.

now because of that, ibuki was leaving. she was gone. the one person mikan thought she could trust. the one person mikan thought maybe liked her, for once, wouldn't hurt her or abandon her like everyone else did. was gone.

mikan was tired. she wanted to go home. her fingers twisted into the choppy lengths of her purple-black hair as she pressed herself against her door, tears dripping down her face. she wanted to go home. she wanted to go home. she wanted to go to ibuki.

there was a knock on the door.

she sniffed and wiped away the tears and snot on her face, standing up on shaky legs. everything felt all too present. the feeling of her clothes on her skin, the tickle of her hair plastered to her face, the bandages on her legs, a reminder of everything people had done to her.

another knock on the door. and a voice.

" _mikan?_ "

ibuki. she was here. she came back... she came back for mikan.

the door flew open and banged against the doorway wall, and ibuki was standing there. in her frightened breakdown mikan hadn't realised that it had started raining outside, and ibuki was soaked down to the bone, her hair horns loose and flowing down her back with the rest of her hair.

she smiled pathetically. "miki..." she said, before mikan herself could say anything, dropping to her knees on mikan's wet terrace floor. "i am so sorry for being late! please forgive ibuki!"

the shock made mikan unable to move, staring down at ibuki as tears welled up in her eyes. she'd... come back. for mikan. for worthless trash like her. ibuki had come running through the rain and down the street.

for her.

"i'm so sorry, miki," ibuki was saying, and her voice was more broken and serious than mikan had ever heard it, "ibuki knows that... she knows that you get anxious, sometimes, when she's not around. when she's late. she's so forgetful, but that's not an excuse."

a hand was placed on mikan's cheek, and despite the water on it mikan wanted to it to be there forever. ibuki was here now. she had come all this way for mikan. mikan was... worth something? if not to the world, then ibuki?

and what difference did it make, really?

"i was..." mikan swallowed, and ibuki tucked a strand of hair behind mikan's ear. even that gentle movement brought mikan to more tears, though these were the ones that came when the warm feeling started spreading through her chest again. "i was afraid... that you'd leave."

she'd never been so honest before. the urge to start apologising and to tell ibuki that everything was okay rose up in mikan again, but she didn't have the energy. instead, she collapsed into ibuki's arms, pressing her face into her soaked shirt.

"i would never leave you, miki," ibuki said, voice so sincere that mikan just cried harder. ibuki faltered for a second, arms gripping the back of mikan's shirt. "ibuki... she cares about you. she - she needs you."

ibuki... needed her? someone needed mikan? and that someone was ibuki?

it felt... so good to be needed. so good to be loved. mikan didn't remember the last time she felt this way, or whether she'd ever felt it all. but it was good. it was amazing. she wanted to feel this way forever.

"hey." ibuki pulled mikan away. "maybe we should get out of the cold." mikan nodded, and stepped away, letting the door shut behind them. and ibuki was standing there, a soft smile on her face, hair dripping water onto the floor. 

"um..." mikan had so many things she wanted to say, but she wasn't sure how to say them. when she opened her mouth, nothing came out. nothing she really wanted to say, anyway. "w-would you like a towel?"

"sure! ibuki's totally soaked." she raised her arms and flapped them around before deciding against that. "she hadn't even noticed. thank you, mikan." the gentle way she said mikan's name - so careful, like it was precious - it was enough to make mikan's legs shake.

there was a fluffy white towel in the bathroom, and mikan took it, along with a smaller hand towel. she jogged back to ibuki, who was cautiously sitting on mikan's couch, trying not to get it wet (and failing). mikan sat down beside her and started drying her hair off.

after a moment of silence, mikan asked, "h-how long were you outside? i'm s-sorry that you had to run all the way over here... because of m-me..." she picked up the smaller towel and wiped at ibuki's face, wishing there wasn't fabric between her fingers and ibuki's pale cheeks. "you could have caught a cold."

"it was worth it for miki," ibuki said, and mikan's hand almost slipped off of ibuki's arm in surprise. as clumsy and silly as ibuki was, it was like she knew exactly what to say to make mikan's heart pound. 

then she sneezed.

and giggled. "...maybe i did catch a cold," she said, flustered, rubbing at her nose. mikan pulled it away and quickly scrubbed the rest of her skin dry, leaving only ibuki's legs wet. "my nose is awfully itchy. it's twitching like a rabbit's, aha!" mikan thought that maybe that really wasn't something to be laughing at.

"i have some soup in the k-kitchen," mikan said tearfully, still overwhelmed. there was a buzzing in her head, confusing and incessant, but it wasn't... bad. "i'll make some for you. please dry your legs off yourself and go up to my bed... you need to get some rest."

ibuki sneezed again and gave mikan thumbs up and a wide smile. "will do, boss!" she stood up, gathering up the towel in her arms and beginning to climb up the stairs. "ah, how annoying," mikan heard her say, "well, at least ibuki gets to spend more time with mikan."

mikan turned away and blushed, slapping her arm over her cheeks to rub the heat away. she moved toward the kitchen, letting ibuki get comfortable in her bed upstairs. she hoped it wasn't too small...

the bowl was hot as she carried it up the stairs, and mikan did her best not to spill it. when she reached her room, ibuki was indeed curled up in her mattress, and had gone through at least a dozen tissues. when she apologised, mikan just giggled.

"you know why ibuki was late?" ibuki said after a few minutes of silence, holding the bowl and spoon in her hands. mikan was rummaging through her closet, searching for clothes that might fit ibuki (which was hard; mikan didn't have a lot of clothes herself).

"she was... trying to be brave. building up courage." ibuki's hands were shaking and her mouth was clamped shut. mikan turned back, eyebrows furrowed in worry. if ibuki was nervous, then it must have been something big... something important to her.

"to do w-what?" mikan asked nervously.

at this, ibuki smiled, shakily. "ah... she wanted to tell mikan that she liked her." mikan froze. "in more than a friend way. and she wanted to know if..." her hand reached up to fidget with her hair. "if mikan wanted to go on a date with her."

it took her a moment to process, piles of clothes still in mikan's arms. ibuki... wanted to go on a date with her? her hands curled up into the clothes in shock.she wanted to say no, wanted to protest that someone like ibuki was way too good for mikan -

but she also wanted to say yes so, so badly.

maybe she wasn't good enough for ibuki, but if ibuki thought she was, then she'd try to be.

ibuki sneezed again, and her eyes widened when mikan leapt up to tighten her arms around ibuki. the logical part of her said, in the back of her mind, that perhaps she shouldn't have been so close to ibuki - the girl was sick, after all - but mikan let herself have this.

she let herself be happy. for once. 

and the best part was, ibuki seemed happy too.

"is that a yes?" ibuki looked hopeful, and so, so vulnerable. mikan liked it. she wished she could see ibuki like this all the time - see a part of her that no one else could see. "ibuki knows she can be a handful sometimes... but... miki ways takes care of her, so..."

"y-yes. of c-course! y-yes!" mikan said, tripping over her own words as she spoke. the feeling of ibuki's own arms wrapping around mikan's back and squeezing caused warmth to spread in her chest once more, despite the damp feeling of ibuki's clothes. "i'll take care of you," she whispered, feeling tears pool in her eyes.

mikan felt happiness wash over her like a wave for the first time in what felt like a long, long time. things weren't perfect, but ibuki was _here_. she hadn't gone. she hadn't left. she wouldn't leave mikan. not now, not ever.

and that was enough.

_— five._

the smell of sizzling meat and rice wafted through the air, and ibuki, in her usual extra-dramatic fashion, sniffed at the air like a dog. mikan laughed, staring adoringly at her friend (girlfriend?) (god, she wanted to call ibuki her girlfriend, but she wasn't sure if it was too early).

her hair was tied back into a ponytail, ribbons adorning the base of her hair horns. somehow. she was wearing a black leather jacket that contrasted the bright, soft pink t-shirt she wore underneath. the short jeans she wore also exposed her thighs, skin scarred and blemished from years of being clumsy and getting injured.

and mikan had been with her every step of the way, with every scar and bruise. the thought made her heart skip a beat.

"ohoho!" ibuki clapped her hands together in excitement. mikan grew worried as ibuki flapped her arms around, eyes trained fearfully on the _extremely hot_ iron plate in front of them. "have you ever been here before, mikan?"

"ah... no," mikan stuttered, feeling embarrassed, "m-my mother... she doesn't like it when i get expensive food. it's wasted on someone like me, after all..." she smiled nervously, heat flushing her cheeks. ibuki frowned.

"of course it isn't! everyone deserves a chance to eat these delicious meals!" she sniffed at the food again. "perfectly cooked steak, sizzling hot rice, corn roasted to perfection... wahh! it's so mouthwatering i could just - _yeow!_ "

mikan jumped back, which was ridiculous, since she'd seen it coming from a mile away. 

ibuki's hand had caught on the hot iron plate, and she was now gripping it with her other hand, gritting her teeth in pain. "ah-! i'm s-so sorry! i should've done something," mikan apologised, and ibuki mustered up a smile. "i should have caught you, or t-told you -"

"it's not your fault, miki. i'm so clumsy all the time, remember? and i don't want you getting hurt either." despite her weak grin, her voice was dead serious. "ow... my finger is stinging like a bee that's had its beehive attacked..."

ignoring the strange metaphor (ibuki was full of strange metaphors; maybe that's why she was such a good songwriter), mikan reached over and took ibuki's hand. she examined the burn. it wasn't too bad, but the way the skin had pressed against the hot plate made it go sore red, and the skin was rough when she skimmed over it.

"you should pour water on it," mikan ordered, and ibuki nodded, wincing. there was a sink nearby, and ibuki walked over to rinse her hands. she gestured toward the soap, but mikan shook her head, and ibuki walked back and sat herself on her chair. "ah... i don't think bandages are necessary, but i should put some just in case."

ibuki nodded, pink eyes trained on mikan's brown-grey ones. mikan took out a band-aid, peeling away the white, shiny backings and carefully laying it over the middle of the burn. "miki? i... ibuki has something to tell you. it's important."

mikan squeaked, almost peeling away the band-aid, though she managed to plaster it back down. "w-what is it? what's wrong? oh no... are y-you breaking up with me?!" she squealed a little too loud, and a few people around them in the food court turned to look at them in alarm. "i'm s-so sorry! i'll do anything to be a better girlfriend! p-please don't leave me!"

"please calm down, miki! i'm not leaving you!" ibuki cried, just as loudly, and mikan had a feeling they were causing a scene. she shook her head. "you're such a good girlfriend... ibuki wouldn't know what she'd do without you!" her eyes were tearing up.

"oh. okay, s-sorry," mikan said nervously, making sure to lower her voice. she really had to work on not getting so panicked so quickly, though it had gotten better after she started dating ibuki. "w-what is it you wanted to tell me?" 

with a sigh, ibuki looked down, twiddling her fingers. "ibuki... got some bad news last week." she heaved another sigh, playing with the ribbon at her hair horns. the hair clip came loose, and she fidgeted with it. "her family is moving away."

"i don't know how far away," ibuki said, switching back to first person speech, flip-flopping between them like she did when she was nervous. "still in japan, they say. but it's near fukuoka, i think." mikan's heart dropped - the distance between tokyo and fukuoka was more than ten hours. "and ibuki tried to stay... she wanted so bad to stay with you, mikan!" her voice cracked. "but her parents wouldn't budge."

"why... are they moving away?" mikan's voice was trembling, and when she raised her hands to look at them, her arms were trembling too, as well as her legs. her whole body was shaking, and even the warmth of ibuki's hands couldn't stop it.

"i'm not so sure myself," ibuki replied gently. "i think my father's got a new job. new business opportunities, you know. a business partner of some kind. and... i don't know if we'll ever be moving back here. so..."

in all their years of friendship, mikan had never seen ibuki take off the black choker around her neck. she'd put it on when she was twelve, and mikan had never seen her without it since. but now it was coming off, held in ibuki's hands, offered up to mikan.

there was a slight pattern in ibuki's skin where the choker was, but it was nothing to worry about. not when ibuki's smile was so sad, eyes pooling with tears. "i want you to have this," she said, voice thick with emotion. "you don't have to wear it. just keep it. so you don't forget ibuki, okay?"

the stinging in mikan's eyes grew more intense, and she rubbed at them. their lunch was cold now, sitting on the table between them. "i..." mikan started, struggling to get the words out. "i - i would never forget you, ibuki! n-never!"

"heh..." ibuki's hands, still grasped in mikan's, squeezed even tighter as her head dropped low, hair hanging over her forehead. she was laughing, cracked and broken. "why... are we being so dramatic? it's still the same country, after all..." mikan knew that wasn't it. 

it was the fact that she wouldn't be feeling it anymore - not for a long, long time. the warm feeling of ibuki's arms around her, dyed hair tickling her cheek as they cuddled, the way ibuki would write pages upon pages of songs for _her,_ for mikan, because she cared for her in a way no one had ever cared for her before.

"i really do love you so much, miki," ibuki said, voice half a laugh. "you're precious. so cute and moe..."

mikan had grown used to ibuki's weird compliments, and she laughed too. "i love you too... ibuki."

ibuki bit her lip and uncurled her fingers from around mikan's. "well... our food is cold now, aha. sorry to bring this onto you, especially when we were enjoying ourselves." when she turned to mikan, she was smiling once more. there was something sad in her eyes, but mikan could tell it was genuine.

she held out her bandaged hand. "what do you say we ditch this place and go somewhere else, yeah? ibuki knows an amazing boba stand we can go to!" the light was back in her eyes, and mikan could never say no to her when she was all excited like this.

the bandages were rough on mikan's skin as she took ibuki's hand, but she was used to it. in fact, it was almost nice. familiar, in a way. "it's a shame," mikan stuttered out, quiet, and ibuki hummed. "w-with you... away... i won't be able to take care of you anymore. when y-you get hurt."

it was half a joke, but when ibuki turned to her, there was nothing in her face but loving sincerity.

"oh, mikan... it doesn't matter how far away you are. you'll always be taking care of ibuki."

_— plus one._

mikan's back hit the wall with a thud. she groaned, scrambling against the brick wall, legs drawn up to her chest. small cuts were all over her arms already - she'd have to bandage them again later. and she'd deemed them healed enough to remove just a few days ago, too...

another kick to her stomach made her yell, but she was used to it by now. the pain that seeped through her veins and flowed like blood - it was the norm, for her. it didn't make it hurt any less, but...

"you're not even gonna try to fight back or anything?" the boy above her groaned, nudging the tip of his boot against mikan's stomach again. she didn't know who he was, only that she wanted him to _stop._ "how boring. and here i thought you'd at least be a little fun."

pain shot through her arms again as a cigarette butt was stubbed out against her skin, and she screamed, kicking her legs. for a moment she hoped ibuki would come, but then she realised that that wasn't possible. 

because ibuki was gone. she'd moved away, and she wasn't here anywhere. she didn't even know what was happening to mikan, right now.

and mikan was alone. 

"p-please..." she curled up into a ball and sobbed, the laughter of the boy above her grating against her ears. she wanted to go home. she wanted to be safe. she wanted to see ibuki again. "i'll do anything you want... give you anything you want... please just l-leave me alone!"

more laughter, and then there was a hand in her hair, pulling her up by her uneven and choppy locks. her neck craned back and mikan let out another sob at the pain. "give me anything, huh? why don't you -"

"hey!" a voice yelled, and mikan gasped. the hand in her hair loosened, and she dropped onto the ground, hitting her head against the stone. but it didn't hurt when it was overcome by wonder, and _hope_ \- that voice -?

"you better get away from my mikan!" ibuki's voice was loud as always, and mikan nearly cried with relief. she propped herself up on her shaky, bruised arms. "or ibuki will fuck you up, no joke! bullying a helpless, cute girl... tch, i bet you were dropped on your head as a kid!"

the guy growled and turned to ibuki, rolling up his sleeves, but mikan wasn't worried. maybe she should have been, but with ibuki, standing there, sunshine down on her back and framing her in light, she looked like some kind of guardian angel. invulnerable, immune to harm.

he looked like he was about to fight, but the infuriated look on his face faded away when ibuki held her electric guitar like a sword. for reasons unknown ibuki had put spikes on the side of them, similar to the piercings on her ears. it just seemed inconvenient to mikan, but at least it came in handy now. 

"...whatever," he spat, kicking mikan one last time. she groaned, but the smile remained on her face. ibuki was here. she hadn't left, hadn't left mikan alone. 

as he left, ibuki glared, expression darker than mikan had ever seen it. and just as quick as it had appeared, the look vanished, and she hurried over to mikan, dropping to her knees.

"i-ibuki," mikan said tearfully, "w-why? why are you h-here? i thought... you'd be gone by now..." _and i'd be alone,_ were the words left unsaid, but both of them knew they were swirling around in both their heads.

"well, ibuki decided to stay, of course," ibuki said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. she ran her hand over the wound on mikan's knee gently, making her wince. "she's legally an adult, so her parents couldn't force her to go."

"b-but -" tears were welling up in mikan's eyes again, "where will you stay? h-how will you take care of yourself? you can't sacrifice all this for someone as worthless as me!" she rubbed at her eyes and sobbed. "ibuki... i'm so sorry! i'm s-so sorry for doing this to you!"

"miki." there was a hand on your shoulder. "our song sales have been rocketing up lately! since ibuki's so good with music and all." she winked. "so she has enough money to take care of herself, at least for now. and you didn't do this to me. ah, well, i suppose you did, but... i want to take care of you, and be here for you, mikan! so you let ibuki do this, okay?"

mikan let out another broken sob, watching as ibuki fiddled with mikan's bag, pulling out a roll of bandages and some antiseptic. "ah...! thank you. l-let me do it."

"no no no! not this time," ibuki said, holding the bandages out of reach, though mikan wasn't even grabbing at it. "you... are always taking care of me, mikan. no matter what happens, for all this time. so for once... let ibuki take care of _you_."

and though mikan didn't have the strength to say all the things she wanted to say ( _i love you, you're amazing, you've been taking care of me this whole time just by being here)_ , she thought the crying she let out conveyed the message just as well.

with gentle hands, ibuki rubbed her fingers into the jar of petroleum jelly. she stroked over mikan's cuts, her skin against mikan's so tender that mikan didn't even process the pain. it felt so nice to have ibuki's warmth back.

the jelly was cool against her scars, dissolving into the skin that wasn't affected by the blood. "you've... gotten quite good at this," mikan said, hesitantly, and ibuki let out a laugh.

"after years of watching you do your thing, it'd be pretty pathetic if ibuki couldn't even treat her girlfriend's wounds!" the affectionate term made mikan blush. "i've always wanted to do this for you, to be honest. to be nice for you like you always were for me."

"oh, w-well, i never minded," mikan murmured as ibuki began to wrap her arms with new bandages, "you always protected me, too. became my f-friend when no one wanted to be." ibuki nodded and hummed. "i've always l-loved you... ibuki."

ibuki pressed the end of the bandage to seal it and laughed again. "ahahah! to hear such sweet words coming from someone as precious as you... ibuki's a real lucky girl!" she smiled sweetly. "i love you too, mikan. more than you'll ever know." 

she snapped another length of bandage off and tapped her chin. "ooh! maybe that'll be my next song title!"

mikan couldn't help but laugh. "a-at this point, you'll have a whole album of songs about m-me..." that is, if ibuki really did mean it whenever she said she'd write a song for mikan, and with her ever-buzzing mind mikan wouldn't be surprised if that were true.

"oh, oh! what a wonderful idea! ibuki's fans would love it. they swoon all over teenage romance songs!" with every word ibuki said, mikan felt the heat in her cheeks grow. "i wonder what i'll title the album. maybe just your name, miki. or - ooh - _the girl i love_... poetic, in a way."

"s-stop! you're embarrassing me!" she bumped her head against ibuki's as she cried out, and ibuki laughed. she lifted up mikan's arms to inspect the bruises, mikan tilted her head. "ah... i have ice packs back home. maybe we should go back there, th-then? if you're okay with that!" 

"i'm okay with that!" ibuki helped mikan get up, picking up her bag for her. hand-in-hand, they walked down the street together, and mikan felt nothing but euphoria and warmth. "i... can't wait, miki. i can't wait to spend my time, all with you."

maybe mikan didn't have the perfect life. maybe her life was even pretty terrible. but as long as there was ibuki, it'd be enough. it'd be _more_ than enough, because ibuki took care of her, forgave her, loved her. loved her like no one ever did. 

loved her like no one ever would, and mikan liked it that way, because no one would compare to ibuki.

they'd come so far from the little kids yelling at each other on the playground. but that was enough about the past - all that was left now was the future. she didn't know much about it, but she did know one thing. 

if ibuki was in it, it'd be a good one.

"yeah," mikan whispered, squeezing ibuki's hand in hers,

"let's go."


End file.
